Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment

The most common measure of enrollment is a simple headcount of students enrolled in classes. Enrollment can also be measured as full time equivalent (FTE) students, a calculation showing how many students would be attending if all were enrolled full time. The FTE calculation is based on the sum of credits carried by all students enrolled in classes at a particular level, divided by the number of credits in a full-time load:

1 FTE undergraduate student = 15 credits

1 FTE graduate or paralegal student = 12 credits

1 FTE law school student = 14 credits

Most classes are held on the USD campus, but some are not. Examples of credits earned off campus are studies abroad, web-based instruction, and classes taught in other locations.

The FTE enrollments (rounded) for Fall 2011 are as follows:

Level

On Campus

Off Campus

Total

Undergraduate

5131

328

5459

Paralegal

215

0

215

Graduate

900

176

1076

Law School*

998

0

998

Total FTE Students

7244

504

7748

* Law School includes students in J.D. (doctoral) and LL.M. (master's) programs.